The future of the global heat exchanger market looks promising with opportunities in the chemical, petrochemical and oil and gas applications.

The global heat exchanger market is expected to grow from $12.94 billion in 2016 to $19.14 billion by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.2 per cent. From there on it is estimated to reach $21.3 billion by 2022 and it is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.1 per cent from 2017 to 2022, as per a new report.

The major drivers of growth for this market are rapid industrialisation, a rise in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) deployments, and stringent environmental regulations. Increasing power generation capacities, and rise in technological advances in heat exchangers are big contributors too, it pointed out.

Emerging trends which have a direct impact on the dynamics of the industry include development of waste heat recovery heat exchangers and introduction of exhaust gas re-circulation coolers.

OVERVIEW

According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global heat exchanger market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 6 per cent during the forecast period. The growing demand for water and wastewater industry will drive the growth prospects for the global heat exchanger market until the end of 2021.

One of the major factors responsible for the market’s growth is the increasing use of heat exchangers in various plants such as water treatment plant to optimise the temperature of water and increase the energy efficiency of water treatment plant. Moreover, the growth in the global water and wastewater equipment market will create a huge demand for the heat exchanger design in the forthcoming years. It has been observed that the growing population, increased manufacturing activities, and growth in the oil and gas production will further drive the demand for water and wastewater industry, which, in turn, will propel the growth potential in the global heat exchanger market.

KEY VENDORS

The global heat exchanger market is highly competitive and diversified due to the presence of a large number of regional and international vendors across the globe. It has been observed that numerous vendors are increasingly providing high-tech and highly customized products at lower prices in comparison to international vendors. However, small vendors find it increasingly difficult to compete with the existing vendors in terms of quality, features, functionalities, and services. Furthermore, with the increasing product extensions and technology, the competitive environment in the market will further intensify.

Alfa Laval, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Kelvion, SPX Flow, and Xylem are the leading players in the global heat exchanger market.

Other prominent vendors in the market include Shanghai Liancheng, Funke Wärmeaustauscher Apparatebau, Hisaka Works, IHI, The Japan Steel Works, Larsen & Toubro, Lanzhou LS Heat Exchange Equipment, Ormandy, THT Heat Transfer Technology, Dover and Thermowave.

The chemical segment dominated the heat exchanger market

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities can be identified by application type (chemical, petrochemical and oil and gas, HVACR, food and beverage, power generation, paper and pulp, others), by product type (shell and tube, plate and frame, air-cooled, others), by region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World).

SHELL & TUBE- LARGEST TYPE

Shell & tube heat exchangers are the most common types of heat exchangers used globally. They are extensively used as power condensers, preheaters, oil coolers, and steam generators. They offer a relatively large ratio of heat transfer area to volume, weight, and other additional advantages making them the most commonly used heat exchanger across all industry verticals. Increased government investments on commercial building & construction projects are driving the demand of HVACR equipment which in turn drives the demand of shell & tube heat exchangers, globally.

CHEMICAL-LARGEST MARKET

The global heat exchanger market can be categorised into four major end user segments: Chemical; HVAC; Fuel processing; Power and Food and beverage

The chemical segment dominated the heat exchangers market with the maximum share in 2015. Heat exchangers have been successfully employed for years in the chemical industry for applications such as the heating and cooling of base, intermediate, and final products. With growing demand for chemicals in the developing economies, the market of heat exchangers is further expected to rise in in the forecast period.

The chemical industry segment accounted for the majority market share during 2016 and will continue to dominate the market during the forecasted period. One of the major factors responsible for the market segment›s growth is the increasing rate of changes in chemical production due to the economic and regulatory initiatives from the government.

Anju Ajaykumar, a lead analyst at Techavio for unit operations research said: “The demand for heat exchangers is expected to arise from growth in capacity in the chemical industry. The major end-users of heat exchangers are chemical, power, food and beverage, HVAC, and fuel processing industries.”

Further, the global heat exchanger market can be categorised into four major product segments: Shell and tube; Plate and frame; Air cooler; Cooling tower.

SHELL & TUBE- LARGEST TYPE

Shell & tube heat exchangers are the most common types of heat exchangers used globally. They are extensively used as power condensers, preheaters, oil coolers, and steam generators. They offer a relatively large ratio of heat transfer area to volume, weight, and other additional advantages making them the most commonly used heat exchanger across all industry verticals. Increased government investments on commercial building & construction projects are driving the demand of HVACR equipments which in turn drives the demand of shell & tube heat exchangers, globally.

The global shell and tube heat exchangers market is expected to reach $4 billion by 2021. Shell and tube heat exchangers are the most common equipment used for heat exchange applications in oil refineries and other large chemical process for high-temperature and
high-pressure applications.

The shell and tube segment accounted for the majority market share during 2016 and will continue to dominate the market for the next four years. This shell and tube heat exchanger segment comprises of three different types of shell and tube heat exchangers namely, u-tubes, straight tube heat exchangers, and straight tube heat exchangers. These heat exchangers are increasingly used for high-temperature and high-pressure applications in oil refineries and other large chemical processes.

Global plate and frame heat exchangers market: The global plate and frame heat exchangers market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 7 per cent during the forecast period. Plate and frame heat exchangers transfer heat between two fluids using metal plates to separate the two media. This has the advantage of the fluids being exposed to a large surface area as they spread out on the plates.

Global air cooler heat exchanger market: Air-cooled heat exchangers are used in various industrial applications where reliable sources of water are not available. Even if water is available, these air-cooled exchangers are preferred as their operation and maintenance costs
are cheaper.

“These air-cooled heat exchangers are used for high-pressure and high-temperature applications such as gas lift, pipeline, and gas re-injection applications,” says Anju.

Global cooling tower heat exchanger market: A cooling tower is a type of heat rejection device that releases waste heat into the atmosphere. It either uses the water evaporation technique to transfer heat or is solely dependent on ambient air to cool the fluid, especially in the case of closed circuit dry cooling tower heat exchangers. Cooling towers are commonly used in oil and gas refineries, petrochemical and chemical plants, HVAC systems, and thermal power plants. The growth in these industries is expected to propel the demand for the cooling towers market globally.

EUROPE-LARGEST MARKET

Europe which includes Western, Eastern, and Central Europe has always been a strong market for heat exchangers and, globally, this market has been a leader for heat exchangers with respect to demand as well as production capacity. This region has the presence of most of the global leaders in heat exchanger manufacturing. It has a relatively slow growth rate as a result of its dominant market size and slow economic activity as compared to the other regions. The demand in this region is boosted mainly due to the increased replacement demand for the heat exchangers.

In terms of geography, APAC accounted for the majority market share during 2016 and will continue to dominate the market for the next four years. The increasing demand for sustainable energy, fresh water, and agricultural and processed food products will boost the demand for heat exchange systems in the market.

Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa are estimated to witness strong growth in the next five years. The demand across these regions is reinforced by the emerging markets, namely, China, India, and Saudi Arabia.